Bob Evans Farm to close 27 restaurants; see the list of locations

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Bob Evans Farms announced in a press release it will shutter 27 restaurants and lay off 1,100 employees, according to a corporate press release. (Wikipedia)

NEW ALBANY, Ohio – Restaurant chain Bob Evans Farms announced Monday that 27 locations will be closing, affecting more than 1,000 employees, according to a press release.

The move is being done in an effort to boost profits for the company, which currently has 548 locations in 18 states. The restaurants are primarily located in the Midwest, mid-
Atlantic and Southeast.

“Decisions to close restaurant locations are always difficult,” said President and CEO Saed Mohseni. “Performance at each of these locations, despite the loyalty of valued guests and the efforts of our dedicated employees, was not meeting expectations.”

Mohseni said the company has tried to relocate to employees to nearby restaurants “where possible,” and has offered severance benefits to the full-time and part-time workers who are losing their jobs.

Bob Evans has already closed 21 restaurants, all company-owned, between April 23 – 24. Six unnamed locations – all leased – are slated for closure in 2017.

The move is expected to generate $20 million by selling the owned properties and boost annual operating income by roughly $1 million. Bob Evans Farms expects to lose $7.5 to $8 million in expenses related to the closures, with the most of the losses coming in non-cash charges.